Automated Fabric Provisioning Using Cisco Prime DCNM

Do you have a need for automated provisioning of your data center? Cisco Prime Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) might just provide that solution.

DCNMis designed to help you efficiently implement, visualize, and manage the Cisco Unified Fabric. The need today in the datacenter is for a comprehensive management platform that delivers visibility as well as control of all elements within the Unified Fabric which in turn significantly simplifies troubleshooting, maintenance and provisioning of the entire fabric in a fast and efficient way.Watch the video below to find out more.

DCNM helps you deliver on your network SLAs by providing a central point of
management for the Cisco Unified Fabric. DCNM delivers unmatched visibility
into and control of all elements within the Unified Fabric, significantly
simplifying management and operations.

DCNM key features include:

Automated fabric provisioning;

Enhanced end-to-end visibility;

Intuitive deployment wizards.

Let’s take a look at how Cisco DCNM delivers on these functions.

Automatic fabric provisioning

Power-On Auto Provisioning, embedded within DCNM, helps simplify and automate fabric deployment. When a switch is added to the fabric, DCNM identifies the switch’s role and automatically delivers the correct configuration files to bootstrap the switch into the fabric. DCNM also automatically creates a cable plan outlining what devices are connected to so topology changes can be easily detected.

Enhanced end-to-end visibility

Operators can get an enhanced topological view that provides a large scale, extended fabric view at a single glance. An operator can see immediately any network failures across the entire fabric. Should a failure occur, DCNM indicates the number of links affected as measured against the device cable plan. An operator can quickly review a switch to get link details, and can determine which device interfaces need to be investigated…all from one view.

Intuitive deployment wizards

Lastly, Configuration Wizards let administrators perform “out-of-the-box” provisioning for Data Center technologies such as OTV, vPC, VDC, and FabricPath. An intuitive graphical user interface lets administrators create and customize provisioning templates and schedule deployment as appropriate. This is ideal for IT organizations with a change window as part of a Service Level Agreement.

In summary, Cisco Prime DCNM manages Cisco’s Unified Fabric by intuitively displaying contextual dashboards of a host, switch, or an entire fabric. DCNM also automates fabric deployments with touchless provisioning and orchestration,allowing smaller teams to manage dynamic networks while still adhering to Service Level Agreements.

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